Combination socket and adapter



W. HALTER. COMBINATION SOCKET AND ADAPTER APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9,1918- 1,33 6,481 Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

UNITED STATESPATENT QFFICE.

WILLIAIJI HALTER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

COMBINATION SOCKET AND ADAPTER.

Application'filed March 9,

To (17/ (.(F/l'OHWiZ may concern lic it known that l, lVrLLIAM HALTER, citi- .1! ol the United States, residing at Cleved. in the county of Cuyahoga and State of bio. have inventedcertain new and useful zoveinents in Con'ibination Sockets and 'apters, of which the tl ollowing is a speciztion.

This invention relates to combination sockets and adapters for receiving electric circuit plugs or other connectors. The object 1e invention is to provide a device of t Y: ind so constructed as to receive int-ereably either the threaded base of a lamp, a-threaded plug, or a rectangular or non-circular push plug,.there-by enabling the same socket or receiver to serve interchangeably with various forms of connections to the lam p or other device to be supplied with current, and avoiding the use of intermediate adapters.

Further objects or the invention are in obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

in the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan view, partly broken out and in section, illustrating one form of device embodying the invention; Fig. :2 is a sectional elevation on the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a non-circular push plug adapted for connection with the socket or receiver shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4 is an out side elevation of a threaded plug.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, my improved socket or adapter comprises a body portion 1 which may be formed of any suitable material, preferably insulating, such as porcelain, hard rubber, or composition-material, and which is suitably constructed for securement to a support or in a recess of the wall. This body portion is provided with a cavity 2 designed to receive the plug or connector. Cavity 2 is of peculiar shape, having two oppositely disposed surfaces 3, which are interrupted portions of the same cylindrical surface, the material of the insulating body being threaded upon these surfaces, as illustrated at 1, so that the two interrupted sur-' faces will together receive and hold the threaded base of an incandescent lamp, or the threaded conducting shell 5 or any threaded plug, such as the ordinary Benjamin swivel plug 6 illustrated in Fig. 4, and of which detailed description is unnecessary.

At the gaps in the threaded interrupted cylindrical surface 3 the cavity 2 is extend- Specification of Letters Patent.

wire 1 and havin two of its oppoills provided with metal contacts 1 J the binding screws 12 to which re lead wires are secured.

to its non-circular or rectangular r. In other words, one of the cavity sionsis longer than the other, and in the present device cavity 8 is illustrated as longer than cavity 7, the purpose of which \vill now appear. Each of the cavities T and 8 contains a contacting member, the two members being alike except as hereinafter noted. l lacil contact includes 'a stationary bcdy portion lying inside the cavity and carrving a flexible resilient portion 14 in the form or a leaf spring, extending out into the cavity and preferably attached to the upper end of the body so that said spring is inclined downwardly toward the center of the cavity. The body portion 13 is suitably arranged for connection of a lead wire thereto. such as by being connected to a screw 15 passing through the body portion 1 and provided on the outside thereof with the nuts 16 for connecting the lead wires.

vhen the noncircular or rectangular plug, shown in Fig. 3 is pushed into the cav- 2 its two contacts 11 engage the two iilg contacts ll oi? the socket, therebv establishing connection from the lead wires running to the socket through said socket to the lead wires of the plug. The plug may be pushed in in either of two positions it being unnecessary to make any distinction as to which contact 11 engages a particular contact 14.

Since the cavity 8 is longer than the cavity T the spring contact ll in cavity 8 is axis of the interrupted i a central openin 'lOto receive -."lin ll'ical port on of the cavity 2 is to only one side of the socket circuit. Suitable provision must also be made to connect the end contact 17 of the plug with the other side of the socket circuit. This result may be secured in any desired manner, preferably by providing a spring contact located in the bottom of the socket connected to the other side of the socket circuit. In the particular form shown the result is secured by providing the contact 14: in cavity 8 with an extension 18 whose end portion lies in the axis of the threaded cylindrical surface When the threaded plug is screwed in its end contact engages the extension 18 and completes electrical connections to the plug. The presence of this extension does not, however, interfere with the use of the rectangular plug shown in Fig. 3.

The short contact 14: which engages the threaded shell of a threaded plug may also have a portion of its spring leaf member corrugated, as at 20, to provide additional contacting surface for engagement with the threads of the threaded shell, although this is not essential.

The socket described may be used interchangeably with a threaded screw plug or a non-circular push plug and therefore does away with the use of separate intermediate adapters.

What I claim is 1. A chambered socket of the character described, provided in its chamber with means for receiving and establishing electrical connections to either a threaded plug or a non-circular push plug.

2. A socket of the character described, provided with a cavity shaped to receive interchangeably a cylindrical or non-circular plug, and means in said socket for establishing electrical connections to either of said plugs.

3. A socket of the character described, comprising a bodyv portion of insulating material having a cavity provided with a non-circular wall and an interrupted cylindrical wall, and contacts in said cavity.

l. A socket of the character described, comprising a body portion of insulating material having a cavity provided with a noncircular wall and an interrupted cylindrical wall, and contacts in said cavity, one of said contacts being farther from the axis of the cylindrical surface than the other.

5. A socket of the character described, comprising a body portion of insulating material having a cavity provided with a noncircular wall and an interrupted cylindrical wall, contacts in said cavity, one of said contacts being farther from the axis of cylindrical surface than the other, and a contact near the axis of said cylindrical surface electrically connected to said first named contact.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM HAL PER. 

